The cult of Russianicity

Mobilising anti-fascist affect in Putin's Russia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5675145
AutoresDavid Zeglen (George Mason University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen11
Número3
Páginas351-365
Fecha de publicación2020-07-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCelebrity Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1939-2397 • E-ISSN: 1939-2400
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19392397.2020.1800671
OpenAlexW3046822277
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas27

This article argues that after the Russian presidential election in 2012, the Kremlin mobilised a populist, anti-fascist affect called ‘Russianicity’ that Vladimir Putin used to help legitimate his third term as president. This article also traces how this state-led effort intertwined with the consumer commodity cult known as ‘Putiniana’ which functioned as an index of changing public sentiment towards Putin. Putin’s cultivation of the ribbon of Saint George as a sign of victory against fascism during his first two terms is examined in conjunction with a Putiniana marked by an ambivalence about Russian national identity and economic prosperity. In the wake of economic decline, mass protests against Putin’s third presidency, and the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, Russian state-controlled television manufactured a fascist threat from Ukraine intended to generate fear and panic. Subsequently, Putiniana more frequently invoked the ribbon of Saint George, which Putin leveraged to position himself as a unique leader capable of dealing with the fascist menace. This development culminated in Putin’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and consequently led to a new stage of Putiniana signifying the restoration of Russia back to geopolitical greatness

Annexation · Autocracy · Democracy · Economic history · Geopolitics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Presidential system · Prosperity · Sociology · Victory · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · History · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements